Compass Box Spice Tree

Penderyn Myth Welsh whisky woody, sawdust, 1.25 complexity, oaky, bitterness oaky, peppery, pungent 1.5 oaky long sustained 1 1.25 grape, red fruits, intense caramel, sweetness 3.5 iodine-y but not too horrible, more like towards oily - fruity, intense complexity, cherry, 2.25 oaky, charred berry barrels 2.25 2.5 Spice tree 46% Aroma, sweetness, raisin, european oak casky, grapes, fruity, a little 3.75 Very impactful hit, complexity, sweetness and zesty, thick creamy, oaky, mild bitterness 2.75 sustained oaky 2 2.75

Wood and candy nose. Herbs, smoke and vanilla. Toffee/caramel. Spice lingers smooth on the finish.

To be frank, I really appreciate how Compass Box highlights the main feature of the whisky in its name. The Spice Tree is blasting in spices, rich, piquantly sweet. It's like an overwhelmingly loud neighbour who you enjoy to run across from time to time but who is also really annoying to live nearby. To the nose: very rich, complex in its sweetness and spices, with tons of caramel, vanilla, various nuts like walnut, hazelnut, nutmeg, also cloves, honey, a bunch of freshly-baked pastries with milk chocolate, sponge cake, cocoa beans, latte with cinnamon topping, ripe fruits like peaches and pears, some citruses. To the taste: same intensity and spiciness here - very bright, sweet, but smooth and round; full of sweet cooking spices, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, ginger, anise, maple syrup, nuts, caramel/chocolate crunchy granola, dulce de leche, creme brulee. Apart from being predictably sweet and spicy the aftertaste appears more to be hot and peppery, with tones of caramel, cayenne pepper, turmeric, caraway, saffron and with some distant wooden notes. Well, I liked it much and I'm almost willing to give it a four. Yeah, that's probably fair.

The nose on this blend is subtle but confident and complex. It will greet you with soft spices and vanilla, but let it breathe a little and the fruitiness shows up. Grapes and plums take over, and just when you think your done and about to sip it evolves again with the dried grass from the meadow. The palate is rich and oily, giving you the peppery spices you would expect from this expression, then rolls into woody oak notes, which then transition into rye reminiscent anise flavors. The finish is medium long, and after the anise tapers off the barrel comes back for an encore. There is a little warmth from the 92 proof as well. This is an interesting scotch.. the nose and initial/mid palate scream Scotland, but the back of the palate and finish are American Rye.